Electric-circuit cut-out.



Elm-76 L293. PATBNTED JULY 5, 1904, CHARLES JOHNSTON & CLAUDE JOHNSTON.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT OUT-OUT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20, 1903.

. H0 MODEL.

1 2 24 3 /a Z 'Z 25 lo M NOa 764,293.

UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT FFICEL.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT CUT-OUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,293, dated July 5, 1904.

Application filed August 20, 1903.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we,CHARLEs JOHNSTON and CLAUDE J OI-INSTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Memphis, Shelby county, State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Circuit Cut-Outs, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in electric-circuit cutouts, and has especial reference to a device for cutting out any particular lamp or lamps on a circuit with other lamps which it is desired to leave on.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple and efficient device whereby one or more lamps on a circuit, each provided with our device, may be cut out without cutting out the lamps on the circuit not so provided. WVe accomplish this object as will be more fully hereinafter set forth in the drawing, specifications, and claims.

In the drawing the figure is a diagrammatic view of a lamp-circuit, showing two lamps, a main-circuit switch, and a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of our cut-out device as applied to one of the lamps.

Referring now to the drawing, in which numerals indicate the parts, 1 is a base-board on which is mounted an electromagnet 2, having a soft-iron core 3, around which is a magnetizing-coil 4. 5 and 6 are wires leading from the circuit-wires to this coil, which furnish the current to magnetize the said coil and which, with the coil, form a closed circuit.

7 is a bar composed of sheets of soft iron, which bar is pivoted at 8 and is attracted in the usual manner by the magnet 2.

9 is an arm extended out from the bar 7, terminating in a hook-shaped end 10 and having on its upper surface a spring 11. The hook 10 engages a loop 12 on a connectingrod 13, and the spring 11, also coming within said loop, takes up the vibration caused by an alternating current.

14 is an arm pivoted at 15 to the base-board and at 16 connected by a pivot 16 with the rod 13. This arm 14 carries a pawl 17, which is pivoted to it at 18 and is normally held For convenience this Serial No. 170,213. (No modeld spring is shown with one end resting on the pin 15,its center against a pin 20, and its other end against the pin 21 on the arm 17. A checkpawl 22 is also pivoted to the arm 14 on the pin 20, before mentioned, its free end being guided by the upper and lower sides of a loop 23.

24 is a contact-wheel carrying alternate contact-pins 25 and insulated pins 26, which project from the face of the wheel and which are alternately engaged by the ratchet-pawls. This wheel is pivoted at 27, and it is held from moving during the return movement of the pawl by a spring 28, having a bight 29 to engage the pins alternately. As additional security against accidental contacts this spring is made one of the contact-points and the pawl 17 the other, so that both must make contact to allow the passage of the current.

30 is a spring to retract the bar 7 when the current is momentarily shut off.

31 and 32 are lamps supplied by feed-wires 33 and 34, the lamp 31 only being wired, so that it may be cut out.

35 is a switch, and 36 37 the wires from the generator.

The action of our device is as follows: Current passes in the position shown in the drawing through the wires 36 37 to the switch 35, thence through the wires 33 34 to the lamp 32 and through the wire 38 to the contactspring 28, thence through the contact-wheel 24, to the arm 14 and the wire 39, back to the lamp 31, current at the same time passing through the small wires 5 and 6 to energize the magnet 2. hen the switch 35 is momentarily opened, the current is shut off from the lamps 31 and 32 and the magnet 2, allowing the bar 7 to drop and moving the arm 14 to the dotted position 14. Closing the switch advances the wheel 24 one point and bringing insulated pins in contact, thus cutting oii' the current from the lamp 31. The movement of the bar 7 when current is put on by closing the switch as mentioned above is so quick that the contact-points would be thrown past the proper point. To obviate this, we have provided the additional arm 22, which is moved into the path of the pins to limit the motion of same.

It will be noted that each lamp and its con- ,trollin g mechanisme'. e. the electromagnet' are wired in multiple, so that in case of failure of a coil its lamp would only be affected, whereas if wired in series the entire circuit would depend on the coil-in other words, that while the magnet and the lamps are supplied by the same circuit-wires they are entirely independent. It will also be noted that the mechanism which wehave devised to operate the cut-out is absolutely positive in its action and that the contact-wheel can only be advanced one step at a time.

For convenience in the claims we have designated the lamps, motors, or other devices Which may be controlled by our cut-out as translating devices.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. An electric circuit containing a plurality of translating devices, a switch for operating said devices comprising an electromagnet a bar controlled by said magnet, a wheel having alternate contact and insulated pins, an arm operated by said magnet-bar to advance said pins and a check-pawl pivoted to said arm into the path of said pins to control the movement of same, and means at a distant control-station for operating said magnet.

2. A magnet step-by-step mechanism, comprising a wheel having alternate contact and insulated pins, an arm to advance said pins, a

check-pawl carried by said arm to limit the motion of said pins, an electromagnet for operating said arm and means of shutting the current on or off from said magnet to operate said arm.

3. An electric circuit containing a plurality of translating devices in' multiple a switch for cutting in or out one or more of the devices independently of the rest, a switch-0perating magnet in multiple with the translating devices and means at a control-station for making and breaking the circuit.

, 4. An electric circuit containing a plurality of translating devices in multiple, a cut-out switch, a switch-operating magnet in multiple with the translating devices, and means at a distant control-station of making and breaking said circuit.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES JOHNSTON. CLAUDE JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

R. K. STEPHENS, .W. S. Bniees. 

